


These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped

by Lamia of the Dark (VisceraNight)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), The Witcher (TV)
Genre: But They Just Casually Do Couple-y Things Sometimes, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Friendship, Gen, Humor, It's a Pokemon AU, Less Angst Than Canon!, Short Chapters, The Witcher But They Have Pokemon, Timeline What Timeline, the pairing is not the focus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 4,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23693191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisceraNight/pseuds/Lamia%20of%20the%20Dark
Summary: The Witcher, but it's a Pokemon!AU. (Still takes place in the Witcher verse, they just also have Pokemon.)
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 24
Kudos: 100





	1. Prologue // Don't Touch Roach

**Author's Note:**

> Other tags will be added as they become relevant.

~ These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped ~

The Conjunction of Spheres had brought with it horrifying monsters, but it had also brought a class of magical creatures that frequently bonded with and protected humans. Some humans still didn't trust these creatures, so for their own safety and the safety of the humans they'd bonded with, the creatures could be bound to a small bottle or other container for concealment purposes, and be called out at the whim of their human.

Because of this, they came to be colloquially known as Pocket Monsters, or "Pokemon" for short.

Geralt of Rivia had encountered many of these creatures on his travels, and sometimes joined forces with them during his missions, but only one had ever bonded to him. Most of the humans he encountered didn't realize that Roach was anything other than a normal horse, and he liked to keep it that way.

* * *

When he first met Jaskier, it wasn't the bad pick-up lines that drew his attention. No, it was the large pack of Pokemon surrounding the bard which drew the witcher's attention. He'd never seen so many following a single person around in the open, in such a public place, none of them tucked away in containers in pockets.

Of course, the ones attached to Jaskier all seemed fairly harmless, just from looking at them.

There were four of them, two round pink ones which could objectively be described as cute, a big red cricket with a mustache (which was still playing music even though the bard had stopped), and a bird that was perched on Jaskier's shoulder and occasionally repeated something that he'd said.

* * *

"Don't touch Roach."

The bard immediately backed down, but one of his Pokemon - offended on Jaskier's behalf - reached out a pointy little paw and touched the Mudsdale's leg.

Roach reared up, snorting, and tried to stomp on Wigglytuff.

"TUFF!" yelled Wigglytuff, dodging around her enraged opponent's pounding hooves as Roach continued to try to stomp on her.

"Now see what you've done! I said not to touch Roach," Geralt admonished, not making any effort to stop Roach from stomping on the little pink monster.

Jaskier was paying the witcher no attention as he attempted to discipline his own Pokemon.

"Bad Wigglytuff! That's a very bad Wigglytuff!"

~oOo~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Pokemon team recap:**
> 
> Geralt: Mudsdale (nicknamed Roach)
> 
> Jaskier: Wigglytuff, Jigglypuff, Kricketune, Chatot (no nicknames)


	2. Piglet

~ These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped ~

Yennefer had never seen a Pokemon before Tissaia showed up with a strangely adorable little green bat nestled on her shoulder.

Forgetting to be afraid of the witch who had bought her from her stepfather, Yennefer pointed at the bat and asked with naked curiosity, "What's that?"

"Haven't you ever seen a Pocket Monster before?" Tissaia inquired, with a tone a of mild disbelief.

Yennefer slowly shook her head.

"Many Pokemon make their home at Aretuza. This one is my partner. He's a Zubat."

Zubat let out a small squeak and fluttered down from Tissaia's shoulder, surprising them both as he circled around Yennefer twice before returning to his previous perch.

Although she was still upset about being sold to a witch (and for only four marks), Yennefer was also eager to meet more of these magical creatures and gain a Pokemon partner of her own, and went with her willingly enough.

* * *

The first thing Yennefer did after arriving at Aretuza was sneak out of her room to look for Pokemon. They were harder to find than she'd expected, or else they were hiding from her... Inevitably, she ended up wandering so far from her room that she couldn't find her way back. Not wanting to get in trouble for having left the room without permission, she avoided any humans she happened across, only to get more and more lost, until-

Yennefer jumped when she felt a light touch on her elbow. She turned to look and found herself staring down at a black-and-purple pig with two large black pearls on its forehead.

"Are you a Pokemon?" Yennefer asked, although the creature was obviously not a normal pig. Besides the coloration and the pearls, it was standing upright on its hind legs. Regular pigs couldn't do that.

The Pokemon nodded, and moved to put a hoof on Yennefer's hand. The pig started walking and Yennefer held on to its hoof (hand? was it a hand?) and followed.

When they reached the bedroom, they found Tissaia waiting there.

"I wondered where you went," Tissaia said, frowning down at the Pokemon beside Yennefer.

She didn't sound particularly angry, but Yennefer didn't think that meant she wasn't in trouble.

"Grumpig," the Pokemon said in a defensive tone, moving to stand in front of Yennefer. The black pearls on her forehead glowed purple with psychic energy.

Zubat shrieked and hid under Tissaia's cape.

Tissaia let out a loud sigh. "So she's _your_ piglet now, is that it?"

"Grumpig!"

"Fine. You make sure she shows up on time for classes."

~oOo~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~No suicide attempt in this AU, because Yennefer was excited to go look for Pokemon.~~
> 
> **Pokemon team recap:**
> 
> Yennefer: Grumpig (no nickname yet)
> 
> Tissaia: shiny Zubat (no nickname)


	3. Sword 3

~ These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped ~

Geralt had, upon occasion, discovered that not all Pokemon are always friendly towards humans. Some Pokemon were extremely territorial and could usually be convinced to coexist with nearby humans by being tamed through battle, or scared off after being defeated.

The witcher had never heard of a case in which Pokemon were actively hostile toward humans.

"Guess there's a first time for everything?" Jaskier remarked with a nervous chuckle, as a swarm of ghost Pokemon blocked him and Geralt from leaving the forest.

They had left Roach back at the town, and Jaskier's Pokemon hadn't fared well in the battle, having all fainted and been recalled to their bottles, without doing much damage to any of their opponents.

It was a bad time to discover that Geralt's silver sword was of no use against Pokemon.

The Pokemons' attacks didn't seem to have much effect on the humans, either, for that matter, although Geralt and Jaskier definitely _felt_ the Psywaves and Night Shades that were hitting them.

"Damn it, I need a sword that can fight Pokemon!" Geralt growled, as a Gastly licked his face, leaving his cheek feeling uncomfortably numb for a moment.

"Yuck," Jaskier commented succinctly, reaching up to wipe the Pokemon drool from Geralt's cheek with the end of his sleeve.

He had to move away again sooner than he would have liked, to dodge a new Pokemon that came flying into the clearing.

At first Jaskier assumed it was another ghost, but when it stopped moving, this one didn't look like the other ghosts. It looked like... a sword? There was a Pokemon that _was_ a sword?

Geralt reached out and seized hold of the sword Pokemon. Once his fingers closed around its hilt, the ribbon that trailed from it wrapped around the witcher's forearm. Immediately, his body was surrounded by the same strange purple glow the ghosts gave off when they used psychic attacks.

"Geralt?" Jaskier squeaked out fearfully, backing a half step away.

"No." The voice that came from Geralt's mouth sounded like Geralt's voice, but layered with something else that sounded completely wrong.

"Are you... the Pokemon, then?"

"I am a Honedge," the Pokemon answered, speaking through the witcher. "Sword 3, that's what he has named me. I will lend my partner my strength directly for the duration of this battle."

There were no more words until after the battle, when all of the ghost Pokemon had drifted down to the forest floor in a faint after having been cut down by the Honedge-possessed witcher.

"So... you're keeping that one, then?" Jaskier asked, after the two had separated.

"I think he's keeping me, whether I like it or not," Geralt replied as the two of them left the forest, with Sword 3 floating along beside them.

~oOo~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Pokemon team recap:**
> 
> Geralt: Mudsdale (Roach), Honedge (Sword 3)
> 
> Jaksier: Wigglytuff, Jigglypuff, Kricketune, Chatot


	4. Lifting a Rock

~ These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped ~

There was only so much Grumpig could do to make sure that Yennefer made it to her lessons on time. The girl did not want to wake up, and went back to sleep even after the Pokemon levitated her out of bed and helped her change into the green robes of the student mage uniform.

"Grumpig!" the Pokemon yelled, shaking the young mage.

"Okay, fine, Mom, I'm getting up," Yennefer grumbled.

In the end, Yennefer shuffled into class late, in the middle of Tissaia's explanation of their first activity.

With a deep sigh, Tissaia scolded both the girl and Pokemon for Yennefer's lateness.

Glancing around the room, Yennefer noticed that most of the other students didn't have a Pokemon partner with them.

Yennefer's first few tries at levitating the rock did not produce so much as a tremor. When she bit the flower, out of frustration as much as making an attempt to extract its power that way, her rock suddenly shot up off the desk, seeming of its own accord.

... then Yennefer noticed the purple glow around the rock, which hadn't appeared on the other rocks that the other students had levitated. She glanced at her Pokemon and noticed that the pearls on Grumpig's head were glowing with the same purple aura.

"Stop that," Tissaia said. "She has to learn to do it herself."

Grumpig's pearls stopped glowing. Yennefer's rock dropped back to the desk.

Tissaia's Zubat shrieked at Grumpig, and the pearls lit up again. Zubat immediately ducked under the high collar of his partner's gown at the threat.

"Why is he always afraid of Mom?" Yennefer asked.

The other girls in the class all laughed, and Yennefer didn't realize exactly what they were laughing at until Tissaia said, "You nicknamed your Pokemon 'Mom', piglet? How... quaint, and yet appropriate."

And Yennefer realized that, oops! She called her Pokemon partner 'Mom' in front of the entire class.

"Yeah? So?" she said defensively.

The rectoress was decidedly unimpressed with her pupil's retort.

"And to answer your question," Tissaia said, "it's because he's a poison type."

The rest of the class laughed again at Yennefer's reaction to this statement.

"Ha ha, she doesn't even know about Pokemon types!"

~oOo~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Pokemon team recap:**
> 
> Yennefer: Grumpig (Mom)
> 
> Tissaia: shiny Zubat


	5. Where Do Baby Pokemon Come From?

~ These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped ~

"Alright, let's go," Jaskier said, slinging his lute case over his shoulder (the opposite shoulder from the one on which Chatot was perched) and starting off toward the road, with Kricketune trailing along behind him.

"Did you put some of your Pokemon away in their bottles, for once?" Geralt asked.

Usually Jaskier kept them out at all times unless they were injured from battles. The two pink blobs seemed to especially resent being recalled to their containers. (And, as Jaskier had once told him, Wigglytuff and Jigglypuff would be 'grumpier than ten Geralts put together' after being released from the bottles again.)

"Oh, no, they're still out," Jaskier said. "They just wander off sometimes. Don't worry about it. They'll be back soon, I'm sure."

Several days later, the Pokemon had still not shown up again, and worried was an understatement. Jaskier seemed on the edge of a nervous breakdown, rambling about all the horrible things that could have befallen his beloved companions.

"What if they were eaten by monsters? Not other Pokemon, but those other monsters?"

"Monsters don't eat Pokemon."

"What if people ate-"

"People don't eat Pokemon, Jaskier!"

"... oh, is that what you think? Is that what you've learned on your travels, great master witcher? Well, let me tell you, people definitely eat Pokemon. Slowpoke tails are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world!"

Geralt hadn't heard of anyone eating Pokemon before, but Jaskier certainly sounded confident about the Slowpoke tails, so now he wasn't sure what to believe. While having Pokemon with him could be useful at times, witchers were experts on the _other_ kind of monsters, not Pokemon.

So he just went, "Hmm."

"Thanks, Geralt. That's _very_ helpful."

Before Jaskier had time to say anything else, three pink blobs came strolling out of the woods, singing cheerfully.

The bard's attitude changed immediately upon seeing them.

"Oh, my babies! You're back! Where have you naughty creatures been? I've been worried sick about you!"

It was only after he'd knelt down to scoop them up into his arms that he finally noticed there was one more Pokemon than there should have been.

"Wait, what's this little one?"

"Ig," squeaked the tiny pink blob.

"It looks like they had a baby," Geralt commented.

"That ridiculous, Pokemon don't... have babies..."

"How do you think they reproduce?"

"Magically? I don't know... but Wigglytuff and Jigglypuff are both girls anyway, so-"

"Jigglypuffffffffffff."

Jigglypuff puffed up angrily.

"What? You're a boy?" Jaskier said.

Jigglypuff nodded.

"And... this is your baby?" he asked, pointing to the little one.

"Wiggly!" Wigglytuff said proudly.

"Oh... alright then. So, do Pokemon give live birth or did you lay an egg?"

"Tuff."

"You laid an egg?"

Wigglytuff nodded.

"Huh, interesting."

While Jaskier was busy having a serious discussion with his Pokemon, the baby wandered too close to Roach's hooves for Geralt's liking, and the witcher knelt and said, "Come here, you little booger."

The little pink blob happily toddled into Geralt's open arms, and snuggled against his armor-clad chest with a contented, "Iggly."

~oOo~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Pokemon team recap:**
> 
> Geralt: Mudsdale (Roach), Honedge (Sword 3), Igglybuff (Booger)
> 
> Jaskier: Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff, Kricketune, Chatot


	6. Anica // Give Me Back My Igglybuff!

~ These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped ~

"You turned my friend into a slug."

"A Pokemon, actually. A Dratini, to be precise."

Yennefer stared down at the wriggly little blue-and-white baby dragon that used to be Anica. Tissaia was still talking, but the young mage tuned her out until the rectoress pushed a broom into her hand and said, "Now push your friend into the pool, piglet."

Yennefer did not want to push her friend into the pool, and delayed by pushing the other two Dratini in first, while she tried to think of a way to smuggle Anica out of there.

As she stood next to the pile of green cloth on the rock that used to be Anica's clothes, Yennefer felt something wiggly slither under the hem of her skirt. Then that something wound itself around Yennefer's ankle, and she realized that it must be Anica.

Still not knowing what she was going to do to make Tissaia think she'd pushed Anica into the pool, the young mage glanced to her Pokemon.

Seeing that Tissaia's gaze was firmly fixed on the pile of cloth on the rock and the end of the broom, Mom cast an illusion of a Dratini slithering out of the clothing. Tissaia didn't notice the Grumpig's pearls lighting up with psychic energy as she watched Yennefer tentatively prod at the illusory dragon Pokemon with the broom.

The fake Dratini rolled over the edge of the rock and disappeared, and a moment later a faint splash was heard.

Once Yennefer got back to her room, Anica uncoiled from her hiding place around Yennefer's ankle and dropped to the floor.

"Well, _now_ what am I supposed to do with you? I'll have to bind you to something to keep you hidden from Tissaia..."

Glancing around the room, Yennefer started to reach for an empty bottle, but then her gaze fell on a small wooden trinket box with a hinged lid, which still smelled faintly of the fire that Yennefer had rescued it from. She reached for the box instead, dumping out its contents (spell ingredients, since she'd had nothing more precious to keep in it), and holding out the open container toward Anica.

Yennefer wasn't sure how binding a Pokemon to a container worked exactly, since Mom wasn't bound to one, but the Dratini's body dissolved into white light and disappeared into the box, which closed by itself and locked shut with a decisive snap.

* * *

"Give me back my Igglybuff, Geralt."

"Booger is my Pokemon. He's bonded to me."

"You can't name him Booger. That's disgusting. You can't name a cute little Igglybuff after _nose-pickings_!"

"He's my Pokemon and he likes his nickname. Don't you, Booger?"

"Iggly."

"See?"

"But he's _my_ Pokemon's baby!"

"That doesn't make him your partner automatically. He bonded with me."

"At least let me hold the baby..."

"Buff!"

"Booger says no."

Jigglypuff and Wigglytuff didn't seem bothered by the fact that their baby had bonded to Geralt rather than Jaskier, and after a while the witcher set the little bouncing ball of energy down so that Booger could walk with his parents.

"Iggly, Iggly~" the baby sang as they walked along.

Of course, Jaskier couldn't stay mad at Geralt or a cute pink singing baby Pokemon for very long, and by the time they made it to the next town, the bard had accepted the situation and was back to his normal self. (Although he was still a _teeny tiny bit_ upset about the baby being named Booger.)

~oOo~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Pokemon team recap:**
> 
> Yennefer: Grumpig (Mom), Dratini (Anica)
> 
> Geralt: Mudsdale (Roach), Honedge (Sword 3), Igglybuff (Booger)
> 
> Jaskier: Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff, Kricketune, Chatot


	7. Baby Princess

~ These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped ~

Yennefer squinted in the direction of the assassin's creature.

"Is that a _Pokemon_?" she wondered aloud.

Most Pokemon usually didn't try to harm humans, and their attacks tended not to do much damage to humans even when they hit them. But could one possibly be trained by an assassin to kill humans?

Yennefer wasn't certain it was possible for Pokemon to kill humans. On the other hand, she wasn't certain it was impossible, either. Queen Kalis's corpse on the ground in front of her suggested that it was indeed quite possible.

"MOM!" Yennefer yelled, as she dropped to her knees to scoop up the baby princess from the ground.

"Crying for you mother?" the assassin mocked, not realizing that she was calling her Pokemon out.

 _Psychic attack_ , Yennefer commanded her Pokemon telepathically.

The attack, however, slid harmlessly over the enemy Pokemon.

 _It's a dark type? In that case, Mom, use Brick Break_.

"Bisharp, Night Slash," the assassin directed his Pokemon.

The Grumpig's attack struck fast and hard, knocking the Bisharp out in a single blow. The assassin was forced to recall his Pokemon to its container, and as he did so, Yennefer opened a portal and dove through.

However, she was not fast enough to dodge the small and wickedly sharp throwing knife that the assassin cast after her...

As Yennefer stared out over the sea, talking to the shallow grave beside her, a fine black mist rose up from the small mound of sand.

Yennefer was startled by a soft touch on her shoulder, and when she glanced over, was even more startled to see a Pokemon floating beside her.

It was small and mostly black, with large red eyes, holding some sort of shield in front of the lower part of its body. She hadn't seen a Pokemon that looked like this one before, but it was probably a dark type or a ghost type. The floating led her to believe it was more likely to be a ghost.

Upon looking closer, she saw that the "shield" it held was actually a clay mask, in the shape of a chubby little face.

The Pokemon started to cry and, not knowing what else to do, Yennefer opened out her arms to it. The Pokemon seemed to trust her already, since it went right to her, and stopped crying almost immediately after her arms closed around it. For being a ghost type, it felt surprisingly solid. (Maybe that was because it wanted to be held? She didn't know much about ghost Pokemon other than their type advantages and disadvantages.)

Yennefer's gaze drifted from the little ghost in her arms to the grave beside her. She glanced back and forth between the two as her mind whirled.

No. Surely it couldn't be.

Were ghost Pokemon... actually dead humans?

"Baby Princess?" the sorceress put forth tentatively. "Is that you?"

The Pokemon in her arms cooed happily and nuzzled against her.

~oOo~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not entirely a happy chapter, but the baby princess gets to stay with Yennefer this time, at least in some form, so... yay?
> 
> **Pokemon team recap:**
> 
> Yennefer: Grumpig (Mom), Dratini (Anica), Yamask (Baby Princess)
> 
> Assassin who we will never see again: Bisharp


	8. Cintra Banquet Aftermath // Yennefer's New Babies

~ These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped ~

"You saved my life! How can I repay you?"

"Uhhh..." Geralt desperately tried to think of something besides claiming the Law of Surprise. Eventually he settled on: "Give me one of your Pokemon."

Duny gladly handed over his precious Pokemon partner, a Sandslash.

As Geralt and Jaskier walked back to the inn where Roach was stabled, the bard asked the witcher, "What are you going to call this one?"

"Dunior."

"Oh, like... sand dune. Because he's a ground type."

"Dunior. Short for Duny Junior. Because he looks like a hedgehog."

"Geralt, has anyone ever told you that you are _terrible_ at naming things?"

* * *

After the assassin incident, Yennefer left Aretuza, refusing to be assigned to any more royal courts.

While wandering through a forest, she found herself being followed by a ghost Pokemon. For some reason, its head looked like a tree stump.

When she turned around, the little Pokemon ducked behind a tree and shyly peeked around the trunk at her.

"Hello~" she called out softly.

The Pokemon drifted out from behind the tree a little more.

"Cute little Pokemon, do you want to come with me?"

Making a soft _woooo_ sound, the Pokemon floated over to her.

"Aww, you're a sweet baby, aren't you?" Yennefer said, hugging the little ghost with one arm while she dug through her pack for an empty bottle with her other hand.

From then on, every time Yennefer entered a forest, a new Phantump would become attached to her - sometimes more than one at once.

* * *

"Why does Roach make normal horse noises, when most Pokemon only say their own species name?" Jaskier asked.

"I don't know," Geralt replied. "Never really thought about it. Why is your bird able to repeat human speech when most Pokemon are only capable of vocalizing their own species name?"

"I... do not know the answer to that. Pokemon are really such mysterious creatures, aren't they?"

"Hmm."

~oOo~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Pokemon team recap:**
> 
> Geralt: Mudsdale (Roach), Honedge (Sword 3), Igglybuff (Booger), Sandslash (Dunior)
> 
> Jaskier: Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff, Kricketune, Chatot
> 
> Yennefer: Grumpig (Mom), Dratini (Anica), Yamask (Baby Princess), Phantump (Sweet Baby), many Phantump which all have cutesy nicknames


	9. The Djinn

~ These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped ~

Geralt was trying to tune out the bard as Jaskier composed a new song... An Ode to Kricketune.

_"Krickey, Krickey, Kricketune,_   
_Jumping out of the grass at you,_   
_Going deedle-deedle-deedle_   
_WHOOOOOOOOOOOP!*_   
_He's got a little mustache, too~"_

In the middle of his trial run of the first draft of the lyrics, he was distracted by a wild Pokemon.

"Is that a singing frog? Oh no, he went in the lake! Geralt, help me catch him!" Jaskier said, tugging on Geralt's arm the whole time to get the witcher's attention.

Geralt sighed. It figured that Jaskier was only interested in Pokemon that could sing.

The witcher could only imagine what would happen if he didn't help Jaskier catch the Pokemon he wanted. He would be in for weeks (if not months) of pouting and whining ("I wanted that froggy and he got away because you wouldn't help me catch him!"), so he did what anyone would do in order to avoid such a fate... he went and got a fishing net and helped Jaskier search the lake for the elusive frog Pokemon.

However, they didn't find anything, not even a tadpole Pokemon, until-

"What's this weird bottle?"

"Don't open it!"

But the warning was too late, for Jaskier had already pulled the stopper from the bottle, and an enraged Legendary Pokemon emerged in a cloud of smoke and attacked the bard.

It took the combine attacks of all of Jaskier's Pokemon - including the Politoed, who had suddenly decided he did like the bard after all and came out of hiding - as well as Dunior, Sword 3, and Roach to drive the Legendary Pokemon away.

"Why didn't you listen to me?" Geralt asked as he quickly packed Jaskier's Pokemon into Roach's saddlebags. (They were all out of the bottles, the new Politoed not even being bound to a vessel yet, but they seemed to grasp the severity of the situation and remained still and quiet.)

Jaskier, who was bleeding from his throat, tried to answer the witcher's question, but choked out more blood than syllables of speech.

"Don't try to talk!"

And, with that, the witcher mounted Roach and pulled his bard up behind him in the saddle, and they rode off in desperate search of a physician.

Geralt would not realize until much later that, in his panic, he'd forgotten about Booger and the poor baby had been left behind at the lake...

~oOo~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Yes, this is a joke about Kricketune's cry from the video games.
> 
> **Pokemon team recap:**
> 
> Geralt: Mudsdale (Roach), Honedge (Sword 3), Igglybuff (Booger), Sandslash (Dunior)
> 
> Jaskier: Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff, Kricketune, Chatot, Politoed


	10. The Djinn pt 2

~ These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped ~

Jaskier was only half-conscious and had a vague awareness of Geralt talking to someone else.

"I thought Pokemon couldn't hurt humans," Geralt said.

"Usually they don't," an unfamiliar voice replied tersely. "Although they _can_ if they're very strong or very angry. There's not much I can do for him, I'm afraid. You'll need to find a mage or a healing Pokemon."

* * *

The next time Jaskier awoke, he was tucked into bed in an unfamiliar room, surrounded by his Pokemon.

Booger was crying, but the person dressed in black rocking the baby Igglybuff turned out - when Jaskier's eyes focused properly - _not_ to be Geralt. Not unless Geralt had suddenly turned into a woman with black hair, anyway.

"Who are you? Where are we?" Jaskier asked, sitting up.

His Pokemon all let out happy cries and swarmed to hug him.

The bard laughed as he patted his companions.

"Hi, guys." Then he put his hand to his throat, suddenly remembering the horrific injury that he'd been dealt. "Hey wait, my throat's completely healed. It doesn't even hurt anymore."

"Ig! Iggly!" Booger yelled, reaching out toward the bard.

The woman went over to the bed and handed the baby Pokemon to Jaskier.

"Iggly," Booger said, as Jaskier hugged him.

"I'm Yennefer," the woman introduced herself. "We're in a town called Rinde."

"Never heard of it."

She continued as if he hadn't spoken: "You've been unconscious for three days. You were badly injured, near death. I told your friend I'd heal you if he brought me the Pokemon that did this to you."

"Wait... you want him to go and _catch_ that thing that attacked me?"

"He did go to find it for me while you I put you in a healing sleep."

"Well, where is he now?"

"I have no idea, probably wherever you encountered it at."

A small pink-and-purple Pokemon that Jaskier had not noticed before floated over to him and patted him on the head.

"Hoopa," this Pokemon said.

"Oh, I've never seen a Pokemon like you before," he said. "Although that coloration kind of reminds me of the..." He trailed off as the realization hit, and scrambled up from the bed, gathering as many of his own Pokemon into his arms as he could. (Politoed and Wigglytuff, who had not been grabbed, hopped down to the floor by themselves.) "YOU'RE THE THING THAT ATTACKED ME!"

"Hoopa."

Hoopa looked and sounded very sad. Jaskier didn't have it in his heart to stay angry at a Pokemon, even one that had hurt him so badly.

"Well, at least you're sorry about it." Then he turned to Yennefer and said, "Wait, if the Pokemon that attacked me is already here, and Geralt is still out looking for it, then... what's going on exactly?"

Yennefer shrugged.

"It seems that Hoopa calmed down after a few days of being out of the bottle it was sealed in. It found the baby Pokemon that your friend accidentally left behind and brought it here. It's still bound to the bottle it was sealed in, though, so the witcher is looking for that. No one can claim a Pokemon that's already bound to a vessel as their partner unless they have the vessel to which it's bound."

~oOo~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Pokemon team recap:**
> 
> Geralt: Mudsdale (Roach), Honedge (Sword 3), Igglybuff (Booger), Sandslash (Dunior)
> 
> Jaskier: Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff, Kricketune, Chatot, Politoed
> 
> Yennefer: Grumpig (Mom), Dratini (Anica), Yamask (Baby Princess), Phantump (Sweet Baby), many Phantump which all have cutesy nicknames


	11. Djinn pt 3 // Recreational Battles // Names

~ These Creatures Are Friend-Shaped ~

"I found the bottle!" Geralt announced triumphantly as he entered the room.

"Hoopa," said Hoopa.

"Give it to me," Yennefer said.

"Sure," Geralt replied.

"Hoopa," said Hoopa, clearly trying to get the witcher's attention.

Geralt continued speaking to Yennefer as if the Pokemon had not interrupted him.

"Trade me one of your Pokemon for it."

It was a difficult decision, since Yennefer didn't want to part with any of her babies. But she really wanted that legendary Pokemon, even if acquiring it meant she had to give up one of the precious partners she had collected on her journey.

In the end, it was Sweet Baby who volunteered to be be traded to Geralt in exchange for the Hoopa.

She had no idea that Phantump even had a second form, so Yennefer was just as shocked as anyone else in the room that Sweet Baby popped out of her bottle as soon as the trade was completed and began to evolve.

"Trevenant," Sweet Baby said, happily showing off her new form and hugging Geralt with her leafy limbs.

"Good trade, hope we don't see you again," Jaskier said to Yennefer as he gathered up his own Pokemon and headed for the door. "Come on, Geralt!"

* * *

Geralt was beginning to enjoy recreational Pokemon battles almost as much as he enjoyed playing Gwent.

People were always surprised to find out that a witcher had a Pokemon named Sweet Baby... and were even more surprised when they found out what a powerful and vicious opponent that Pokemon actually was. (Of course, Sweet Baby was not mean to Geralt, although sometimes she picked on Jaskier or his Pokemon with ghostly tricks. But that was more mischievous than malicious.)

* * *

Geralt found it mildly irritating that Jaskier had never bothered to name any of his Pokemon, instead calling them by their species names as if those were their personal names. That was a bit too much like calling your horse "Horse" instead of "Roach" and he wasn't fond of the convention, even if the little monsters themselves didn't seem to mind.

One day when he was particularly irritated (although for unrelated reasons), Geralt snapped.

"You need names! You're Jaskier Junior," he said, pointing at Jigglypuff. Then he pointed to Politoed. "You're Swirl-tummy." Then Kricketune. "You're Deedle Whoop." Then Wigglytuff. "Pinky." And finally Chatot. "Jaskier the Third."

~oOo~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Pokemon team recap:**
> 
> Geralt: Mudsdale (Roach), Honedge (Sword 3), Igglybuff (Booger), Sandslash (Dunior), Sweet Baby (Trevenant)
> 
> Jaskier: Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff, Kricketune, Chatot, Politoed
> 
> Yennefer: Grumpig (Mom), Dratini (Anica), Yamask (Baby Princess), many Phantump which all have cutesy nicknames, Hoopa


End file.
